Bhalulata Village (Orissa): Suspected Maoist rebels blew up a stretch of a railway track near Bhalulata in the Sundergarh region of of Orissa on Wednesday. Eight bogies of a goods train
has been derailed and train services between Howrah-Mumbai have been disrupted
following the explosion. However, there has been no report of any casualty. This
sabotage by the rebels has been viewed as a part of the three-day shutdown call
given by rebels in Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa, as a mark of protest
against the central government's 'Operation Green Hunt' to track down Maoists.
Home Minister P Chidambaram held a key meeting with the chiefs and representatives
of four Maoist-affected states in Kolkata on Tuesday. Chidambaram later extended
an olive branch to Maoist rebels and urged them to abjure violence to make headway
on talks with the government. Maoists claim they are fighting for the rights of
poor farmers and landless labourers, but are fast losing credibility after attacking
schools, hospitals and infrastructure projects.
